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Chevrons on the rear of apparatus, your thoughts?
The 2009 version of NFPA 1901is going to mandate chevrons on the rear of apparatus, like they do in Europe. I think it's a great idea who's time has finally come. I'm sure many FF's and civilian's lives will be saved by this. We need to be visible out there. Some F.D's have been doing this for a while, (see the JPG below). What do you think?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by sully on
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here in south county MO, we have a number of departments that on all there new trucks and pumpers will have these on them. my fire department hasn't gone to these yet but it won't be long. we are looking at buying to new pumpers the end of this year. so i'm ure they will haveit on the back. it's a good safety thing. more so on the busy interstates. we have a lot of busy roads and interstates in are fire district.
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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Chief,
The reflective stripe idea was adopted from Europe. Hi-viz has been the norm there for years.
As for someone "selling lots of reflective material" I seriously doubt that was considered by the committee. That would be like saying that the slime green pigment-makers were behind the 1970's and 1980's push for slime lime fire apparatus. There are so many different companies that make reflective material that the chances of any one of them - or all of them - getting that kind of traction with the NPFA is pretty remote.
We have no problem with the chevrons. In fact, the federal government is getting ready to replace the KKK ambulance paint/trim/lighting standards with the NFPA version, because the NFPA version has more research backing it and because it will standardize warning light and safety marking systems on emergency vehicles, no matter if its an engine, truck, ambulance, rescue, or whatever.
Here is a sample of what the new chevron systems look like on both an engine and an ambulance.
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The dots are designed to apply over treadplate on existing apparatus, not as substitute for the solid stripes on a new vehicle. The standard chevron strips will not adhere to the treadplate, so the choice isn't between stripes and dots, it's between dots and naked treadplate.
For existing apparatus with vertical treadplate on the rear, the dots are "doing it right".
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How is "pony up and meet the standard" going to work for existing apparatus with vertical treadplate on the rear? Standard chevron stripes won't adhere to treadplate. The dots will.
The choice here isn't between stripes and dots, it's between dots and no reflective trim at all.
I don't see any fire department anywhere buying new apparatus just to get chevrons on the rear. Likewise, no fire department is going to take an apparatus out of service, rip the vertical treadplate off the rear, and replace it with flat metal panels just so chevron stripes can be applied.
As for the dots and "driver's eyes", the dot pattern is designed to look very much like the chevron stripes as you approach. They're almost as visible as the same square footage of solid stripes, and they're way more visible than treadplate.
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Permalink Reply by paul michael komandt on
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BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD. ALSO THE ADD-ON DOTS BETWEEN THAT DIAMOND PLATE TREDS ARE NICE TOO!
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The distance doesn't matter - the high-viz chevrons show other drivers that something big is in the way and to avoid it. The high viz also helps highlight any firefighter that has to walk behind the rig in traffic in low-light conditions like dawn, dusk, rain, and light fog.
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Permalink Reply by John Rulli Jr. on
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Sounds great!
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Permalink Reply by Eric on
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I'm off the main topic here, but I just wanted to comment to Paul about the helmet storage. From what I've heard from several peopleis that an attempt is being made to put a bracket type of system in that secures the helmets. I may be wrong, that's just what I've heard. As far as the chevrons go, I wouldn't mind it. Chevrons, dots, anything is better than nothing I guess. Hopefully it helps. I do agree however with those that post about people not seeing an entire piece of apparatus with lights flashing everywhere.
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Permalink Reply by Jerry on
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I also think they're ugly, but you can't deny that they get your attention. One of our neighboring companies just picked up a new Rescue unit with the chevrons on the rear and it really stands out.
The firefighting community in Delaware is pretty close, primarily due to the size of the state. We lost a firefighter/EMT in December due to an IDIOT driver speeding down a 3-lane road, bouncing off a police car and then hitting the EMT. She went to the hospital with multiple broken limbs and serious injuries and ultimately died in the hospital a few days before Christmas. She was a member of a different station, but It touched me as I had chatted with her a bit during a vehicle rescue class just 3 weeks before. The idiot had a history of dangerous driving and hit-and-runs. In this instance, he was helped into another car and fled the scene. He was paraplegic and was controlling the pedals with a wooden stick... He shouldn't be on the road, there's no other way to put it.
Because of that incident, the Delaware firefighters are very touchy about controlling the scene and will err on the side of caution and close the road if we have to. All of the lights, cones, chevrons, etc won't stop the guy who doesn't care enough about others to stay off the road when impaired (from drugs, beer, sleep, whatever). But there are times when closing the road isn't possible (say you're the first apparatus on scene on a 4 lane highway). You'll need whatever help you can get, and those giant chevrons might save your life or the life of your buddy standing 5 feet away.
Stay safe out there!
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Permalink Reply by FIRE BEAR on
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i thiink its a great idea to have them i just hope a drunk driver dont think they are a target
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